Toulouse: The EU Space Act faces its first formal test in the European Parliament, where The European Post reports that the Industry, Research and Energy Committee has scheduled its first vote on the proposal for 10 November 2026. The Commission put the Space Act forward on 25 June 2025, and the vote will show how far MEPs back one set of space rules for the whole bloc.
Rapporteur Elena Donazzan of the ECR group leads the file, according to The European Post, with Angelika Niebler of the EPP and Giorgio Gori of the S&D as shadow rapporteurs. The committee received the referral on 8 September 2025 and Donazzan presented a draft report on 3 March 2026. The Environment and Internal Market committees gave opinions in March and April 2026. Only that newspaper confirms the 10 November date, and Parliament has not published a plenary date, so trilogues cannot yet begin.
The EU Space Act rests on three pillars. Safety covers tracking space objects and limiting debris, resilience brings tailored cybersecurity duties for European space infrastructure, and sustainability asks operators to assess and cut their environmental impact. The rules apply to EU and non-EU operators that provide space services in Europe, and requirements scale with a company’s size and risk profile.
The Commission argues that fragmentation is the problem. Its EU Space Act page counts “13 different national approaches” across the Union and promises a single market for space activities, with a support package aimed at start-ups, small firms and small mid-caps. The proposal is formally COM(2025) 335.
Governments have pushed back on scope. According to an article by Grace Nacimiento of the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen, published by the International Bar Association in July 2026, several member states want military activities, dual-use systems and security interests to stay with national authorities. The Danish and Cypriot Presidency compromise texts also favour more national discretion over spaceports and emergencies, and neither text amounts to a final Council position.
Governance is a second fault line in the EU Space Act talks. The Commission proposal gave the EU Agency for the Space Programme, known as EUSPA, a substantial supervisory role, while several capitals want a stronger national one. Both Presidency texts also try to align cybersecurity duties with the NIS2 Directive so that operators avoid paying twice for compliance. Smaller operators, The European Post says, fear a compliance timeline that squeezes them against better-funded American and Chinese rivals.
Competitiveness explains the urgency behind the EU Space Act. The Commission links the proposal to the Draghi and Letta reports and to its space strategy for security and defence. A harmonised licensing regime could help European launchers and satellite operators scale across borders, but a diluted text could leave the 13 national systems in place. The Council record after March 2026 is not public in the sources reviewed.
Three markers will show where the file goes next. The first is whether the committee vote on 10 November takes place as planned and what margin it delivers. The second is whether Parliament schedules a plenary mandate. The third is whether the Council settles its scope dispute on national security and spaceports, because the EU Space Act cannot become law until both institutions agree.





